Cue the "Eye of the Tiger"...

Life and living isn't for sissies. I mean really, each day is a challenge. For some, just getting out of bed is a monumental effort. For others, illness dampens life and still others are prone to injury. I said it once, I'll say it again, "Life and living isn't for sissies." Living in a fallen world takes faith, hope, and trust in someone bigger than us. Giving up isn't an option in life, but grasping a strong resolve to thrive is....

Today, take 4 minutes and 28 seconds and watch the video. I had tears in my eyes near the finish of this race as I watched one who should have been assumed to be beaten come back "from the depths of hell" to take the win!! (The announcers are a bit difficult to understand, but their excitement will make it worthwhile.) Watch the young lady in red near the finish!!

What monster stares you in the face today? How is your walk with Jesus? Is your faith in Christ growing and emerging as the chief source of your strength. Hope so. Are you considering defeat as the only way forward? Hope not. Reach out to Jesus and realize His hand is outstretched toward you. He is our strength and hope. Grasp His hand and experience life to the max! Expend your entire life pursuing Jesus and stretch forward with anticipation of the win only He can provide.

"I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out

of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in

my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. Blessed is

the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false

gods. Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can

recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare. (Psalm 40:1-5, NIV)

Let our mantra be that of the apostle Paul,

"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3:10-11, NIV)